As published in Stormscroll June 2014 p.19 [1]
Lady Auicia le Redde
For this month’s investigation into medieval cuisine I cooked blawmanger. Whilst this dish does pose its variations across the several recipe collections that it features in, the version that I followed was a relatively simple rice dish cooked in almond milk with chicken stirred through. The recipe used is from Utilis Coquinario, which dates to circa 1400.
Tak the two del of rys, the thridde pert of almoundes; wasch clene the rys in leuk water & turne & seth hem til thay breke & lat it kele, and tak the melk & do it to the rys & boyle hem togedere. & do therto whit gres & braun of hennes ground smale, and stere it wel, and salte it & dresch it in dishes. & frye almoundes in fresch gres til they be browne, & set hem in the dissches, and strawe threreon sugre & serue it forth.
The following is my interpretation of the recipe:
Serves 10
Place the chicken breast into a large pot, so that it sits flatly on the bottom and cover with water, place the lid on tightly. Bring to the boil quickly, then immediately reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to sit, covered, for 25 minutes. When chicken has cooled, chop into small pieces. Meanwhile, wash the rice with warm water, and place in a pot with the almond milk and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until milk is absorbed. Add ground chicken and half of the butter, and stir through until thoroughly combined, and the chicken is heated.
Over a low heat melt the remaining butter, and add the flaked almonds. Stir constantly until almonds darken. Serve rice with almonds scattered over, and sprinkle with sugar.
This dish was enjoyed in accompaniment to roast and stewed beef. Ludewicus felt that there were too few flaked almonds for the quantity of rice, especially as their crunch and flavour highlighted the dish. Lord Rioghan thought that the pieces of chicken were too small, and at first it was difficult to notice that the dish contained chicken at all. Martin commented that the dish made a wonderful side, but standing by itself was rather plain. Jared, this being his first encounter with anything medieval, simply said that it was tasty.
My overall impression of the dish was that as a relatively simple dish to make, it would make a worthwhile addition to any Western European feast, as, like Martin said, it did accompany the other dishes well. It would also be a good addition in that it required little prep or attention whilst cooking, apart from the stirring, and could easily be made in advance and reheated before serving.
Phoenix Rise